Air Force Celebrates 62 Years Published Sept. 17, 2009 By By Col. John Lipinski 615th Contingency Response Wing commander TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Today, our Air Force celebrates 62 years as a separate service. By the close of World War II, the Army Air Forces operated with considerable autonomy within the War Department, but doctrinal principles compelled our nation's leaders to establish a separate Air Force. The National Security Act of 1947 restructured the military departments and in addition to the Department of Defense, created an independent United States Air Force. Since Sept. 18, 1947, our Airmen distinguished themselves by building the most dominant and formidable Air Force the world has ever known, and our steadfast commitment to a heritage of professionalism, excellence, and innovation continues to propel our Air Force to the forefront of air, space, and cyberspace. While our Air Force has seen many changes over the past six decades, today's Airmen remain true to the expeditionary spirit of early airpower pioneers. The drive to employ new technologies, efforts to refine tactics and training, and focus on accomplishing the mission while caring for our Airmen and their families also remain hallmarks of our Service. And while we may have experienced numerous organizational and uniform changes, our rich heritage of sacrifice and achievement continues to demonstrate the courage and resolve of America's Airmen. Over the years we've developed an identity all our own while continuing to dominate the skies and the high frontier of space. We honor the Air Force birthday as the day we became a separate service: separate of other branches yet unified to defend our national interests. Teamwork and interoperability remain our constant watch words. As joint partners, we strive to synchronize the capabilities of each service to fight, sustain, and ultimately, win our nation's wars. With over 40,000 Airmen deployed alongside Sailors, Soldiers, Marines and Coast Guardsmen to contingency and humanitarian operations throughout the world, our Air Force is "All In" today's joint fight. Today, more than 660,000 Airmen, Active Duty, Reserve, Guard, and Civilian members embrace our values of integrity, service and excellence and preserve a proud legacy. Like past generations of Airmen, we continue to chart a course with unlimited opportunities for success, and together with our rich history, that future is definitely worth celebrating.